Traffic with the Devil (1946)

Charles Reineke: Self - Narrator

Quotes 

• Officer Charles Reineke : [voiceover]  Of all the thankless jobs... You're supposed to be here to protect people, but they act like a cop was their natural enemy.

  Officer Charles Reineke : [a couple looks at him with suspicion, with a child in the back seat sticking out his tongue; then a pretty woman driving a car smiles at him]  Well... most people, that is. People who don't hate cops are scared of cops; they should be scared without 'em. You have to get off the highway occasionally, or you find yourself leading a parade.

  Officer Charles Reineke : [pulls off road up to a vantage point overlooking the highway]  That's what it is - a parade. Twenty-seven cars passing there every minute; average speed, 51 miles an hour. Forty years ago, it was eight cars a day; top speed, 26 miles an hour. Fifty years ago, there were wagons averaging 26 miles a day. Sixty years ago, that road was a cattle trail. People traveling a thousand miles like they once went 50. Speeding up their lives. People going a mile a minute to work, or play, out for the job, or getting away from it all. Going home, or looking for greener pastures. A new generation, freed from limitations of time and space. A nation on wheels - a nation going places. Give him a car, and every man's a king on the highway.

• Motorist : [to motorcycle cop who pulled him over]  Well, I was only doing 30. Why don't you be reasonable?

  Officer Charles Reineke : That's 5 miles over the limit - but I clocked you at 45.

  Motorist : Well, I know how fast I was going... My word's as good as yours. Looky, copper - I'm not afraid of that uniform. I could get you fired for this!

  Officer Charles Reineke : Okay, chum. The name's Chuck Reineke - badge 193, Los Angeles Police Department. Huh. You'd be doing me a favor.

• Officer Charles Reineke : [narrating]  Yes, there's something very personal about an automobile. It assumes the characteristics of its driver. You can follow a car for a mile or two, and know the best - or the worst - about the person at the wheel... The irresponsible, the selfish, the bully, the thoughtless, the absent-minded, the dope.

• Officer Charles Reineke : [narrating]  Fifty years ago, there were no automobiles. Now, we have thirty million. Three quarters of the world's automobiles, in the United States - driving us faster, bringing the people closer to each other... the country, closer to the people.

• [last lines] 

  Officer Charles Reineke : [narrating]  We do what we can. Some that get away from us, we catch later at the morgue or the hospital. Anyway, stopping cars won't stop reckless driving - that's up to the driver. And too many of them have to learn the hard way.